Kilroy's tent collapse lawsuits

St. Louis, MO (KSDK) - Two people injured in last month's deadly tent collapse outside Kilroy's Sports Bar sued the bar and the company that installed the party tent.

The tent collapse occurred Saturday, April 28 just before 4 p.m., about an hour after a Cardinals game ended. Some fans went to Kilroy's located on 7th Street, just south of Busch Stadium, for post-game festivities.

The National Weather Service reported winds of 50 miles per hour picked up the large party tent set up outside the bar and launched it into the air. As many as 200 people were beneath the tent at the time of the incident.

A total of 100 people received medical treatment due to injuries from the tent collapse, but most of them were cuts and bruises, according to St. Louis Deputy Fire Chief John Altmann. Fifty-eight-year-old Alfred Goodman of Waterloo, Illinois was killed.

Two of those injured people, 47-year-old Janet Martinez and 25-year-old Kurt Volk, filed separate lawsuits against both Kilroy's Sports Bar and Sun Rental, the company that loaned the party tent.

The lawsuits allege Sun Rental was negligent in assembling the tent outside Kilroy's and failed to provide proper supervision or warn the bar's owners about the tent's inability to withstand such high winds. The lawsuits also accuse Kilroy's of acting irresponsibly in regard to the tent installation and failing to move customers to safety.

Janet Martinez's lawsuit said she sustained serious, permanent, disabling injuries as a result of Kilroy's carelessness, including: a fracture to her cervical spine, injuries to her torso and chest, and several other bodily injuries.

Sun Rental, based in Bridgeton, rented and installed the tent outside Kilroy's on April 27.

According to Frank Oswald, Building Commissioner for the City of St. Louis, all tents bigger than 1,000-square-feet are required to have a permit. Kilroy's did have a permit for its tent. That permit was issued on April 11.

The tent had been inspected for safety measures, but the assembly and upkeep of the tent is the responsibility of the contractor who puts said tent together, Oswald said. The tent must also be assembled to the manufacturer's specifications.

Art Randall, the owner of Kilroy's Bar, said he opened the bar in 1984.